Mujaddara, is a vegetarian friendly recipe that consists of cooked lentils with either white rice or bulgur topped with caramelized onions, it is very popular all over the Middle East and considered a staple in Arabic homes.
For the bulgur version click here , however since I started eating more of lower carb recipes and in-spite of the amazing benefits for bulgur wheat as a great source of carbs I sometimes like to use cauliflower rice which helps in weight loss and isn’t any less delicious.
- 2 cup Brown Lentils
- 2 bags of frozen cauliflower rice (I bring mine from Costco from their frozen isle)
- 2 medium sized onions ( I used one white and one red because that’s what I have)
- 4 tbs of olive oil
- 1 tsp of Arabic 7 spices
- 1/2 tsp dry coriander
- 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
- salt to taste
Directions:
Start by chopping the onions into medium julienne cut, in a large pot (its a one pot meal) heat up the olive oil and cook until caramelized and golden brown, remove most of the onions as they will be used as topping for this dish, while leaving around one table spoon of the onions in the oil, this will help impart a rich and delicious flavor to your mujaddara whether you are making it with bulgur wheat, rice or cauliflower rice this will transform your dish in an unexpected way, trust me on this.
Remove the pot from the heat and add the washed drained lentils, be careful when adding cold washed lentils to hot oil, it’s better to drain them completely before adding and wait for the pot to cool down.
Toss the lentils with the olive oil in the pot adding the spices and enough water to cover them, the lentils will need around 25-35 minutes boiling in the delicious stock …
Now while the lentils are being cooked prepare your khyar be laban (Tzatziki’s Arabic Cousin) for full recipe click here.
Once the lentils are fully cooked add the cauliflower, just keep in mind cauliflower rice doesn’t need much water so at this point you can remove some of the excess water or you can keep it like I did, my husband loves the mujadara to be a bit like a risotto in consistency.
For a drier mujaddara remove all of the water and add 2 cups of stock along with the cauliflower rice and cook covered until your rice is fully cooked.
Then garnish with pickles, caramelized onions, green onions, olives and serve with this yummy fresh and tangy khyar be laban aka Jordanian tzatziki and Sahtain 🙂
Procrastinator Cook 